Viognier ‘Pied de la Rue’ Domaine de la Madone is the first Viognier to be made in Fleurie. Aged in barrel for 6 months this is an exceptional wine and a truly remarkable expression of the Viognier grape. It is a full-bodied white with bright stone fruit and textured honey notes that keeps developing in the glass. The wine remains fresh and elegant on the finish and is excellent with roast chicken.

Domaine de la Madone, located in the Beaujolais Cru of Fleurie, is owned and run by Arnaud Despres. Arnaud is the 6th generation of his family to farm these famous hillside vineyards that take their name from the chapel which sits on top of the hill above the village of Fleurie. Arnaud’s 17 hectares, which sit on pink granite, enjoy some of the best growing conditions in the area and are blessed with exceptional amounts of sunlight - perfect for cultivating the Gamay grape. Arnaud now also makes a white wine from Viognier and there was talk of planting some Marsanne in the not-too-distant future. It should also be noted that the winery has a restaurant attached to it which is fantastic.

Picking is done manually, and the wines are fermented in whole bunches in concrete tanks to retain the freshness and terroir of the individual plots. The winery is built into the hillside so the wine can be moved from picking baskets to tanks and then to barrels via gravity. Some of the top cuvees are aged in oak barrels and there is some experimenting with concrete eggs. Filtration is very light and a small amount of sulphur is used.